Device for adjusting the retaining force which is to be overcome for a safety release of a toe or heel holder of a safety ski binding

ABSTRACT

The safety release is effected by the disengagement of coupling means having a member which is under the action of the retaining force. At least one adjusting member is provided for effecting a standard adjustment and a differentiating adjustment. A locking member is provided, which is adjustable or releasable only by means of a tool and normally permits only of the differentiating adjustment.

United States Patent [191 Marker [111' 3,709,511 [4 1 Jan.9, 1973 [54] DEVICE FOR ADJUSTING THE RETAINING FORCE WHICH IS TO BE OVERCOME FOR A SAFETY RELEASE OF A TOE OR HEEL HOLDER OF A SAFETY SKI BINDING [76] Inventor: Hannes Marker, Hauptstrasse 51- 53, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany [22] Filed: Dec. 1, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 93,943

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Dec. 9, 1969 Germany... ..P 19 63 796.8

[52] US. Cl. ..280/1l.35 T [51] Int. Cl ..A63c 9/00 [58] Field of Search..r280/ll.35 T; 74/102; 192/141 [56] I References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/1967 Pronzati ..280/ll.35T

Primary Examiner-Kenneth H. Betts I Assistant Examiner-Robert R. Song. AttbrneyFleit,Gipple & Jacobson [57] ABSTRACT The safety release is effected by the disengagement '01 coupling means having a member which is under the action of the retaining force. At least one adjusting member is provided for effecting a standard adjustment and a differentiating adjustment. A locking member is provided, which is adjustable or releasable only by means .of a tool and normally permits only of the differentiating adjustment.

5 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJAN elm v 3.709.511

SHEET1UF2 INVENTOR: Hdnnu Marker;

BYI

PATENTEU JAN 9 I973 SHEET 2 OF 2 I DEVICE FOR ADJUSTING THE RETAINING FORCE WHICH IS TO BE OVERCOME FOR A SAFETY RELEASE OF A TOE OR HEEL HOLDER OF A SAFETY SKI BINDING This invention relates to a device which is included in a toe or heel holder for a safety ski binding and serves to adjust the retaining force which is to be overcome for a safety release of the holder, which safety release is effected by the disengagement of coupling means having a member which is under the influence of the retaining force.

Such devices enable an adjustment of the retaining force which must be overcome for a release of a safety ski binding element. By this adjustment, the retaining force can be adapted to the anatomy and skiing characteristics of each skier and an exact release of the binding under loads which would endanger the skiers leg is generally ensured. The adjusting devices of most safety ski bindings are open and easily accessible and their adjustment is facilitated in that they are provided with a knurled screw or a screw having a head with a wide slot for engagement by a coin used as a tool. As a result, a correct adjustment made by the sports articles dealer in accordance with certain rules can easily be changed intentionally or inadvertently. Such wrong adjustments often result in falls, which may be the cause of typical and of atypical skiing injuries and which are then ascribed to a malfunction of the binding. principle.

Because the retaining force must be smaller in any case than the load which would cause a fracturing of a bone and because it has been recognized that this fracturing load is a function of the diameter of the bone, it has been proposed that the sports articles dealer should individually adjust the binding for each skier and that means should be provided which will prevent or at least indicate any subsequent adjustment. Whereas this solution appears reasonable at first sight, it is still not quite satisfactory because in the case of such an invariable adjustment the retaining force must be much lower, for safety reasons, than the bone-fracturing load, to eliminate measuring and adjusting errors. The adjustment of an insufficiently large retaining force, however, may lead to a premature release resulting in an atypical skiing injury. Adjusting devices which cannot be readjusted will prevent a correction of the safety factor although such correction may sometimes be desirable for the reason stated above and may be permissible on principles.

It is an object of the present invention so to improve and design a device of the type defined first hereinbefore that the disadvantages of the known devices of that kind are eliminated in a simple and reliable manner.

In a device which is included in a toe or heel holder for safety ski bindings and serves to adjust the retaining force which is to be overcome for a safety release of the holder, which safety release is effected by the disengagement of coupling means having a member which is under the action of the retaining force, the above-mentioned object is accomplished according to the invention by the provision of at least one adjusting member for effecting a standard adjustment and a differentiating adjustment and a locking member, which is adjustable or releasable only by means of a tool and normally permits only of the differentiating adjustment. With this device, the sports articles dealer selling the safety ski binding can adjust the same to a value which is standard for the skier in accordance with the rules for adjustment and which substantially ensures that the binding will operate properly so that typical skiing injuries will be avoided. When the locking member has been secured by means of a tool and has possibly been sealed, the skier can adjust the binding from the adjusted standard value only in a permissible range so that the safety function of the binding will be preserved and only the factor of safety and the retaining force can be changed, e.g., to match the proficiency of the skier.

In devices which are provided with means for indicating the retaining force, it has proved desirable to provide a single adjusting member, known per se, for effecting the standard and differentiating adjustments, and to provide a locking member consisting of a plate which is adjustable by means of a screw and a slot in the direction of movement of an indicating pin or the like member of the indicating means and has an aperture which receives the free end portion of the indicating pin and limits the range of movement thereof to a range corresponding to the differentiating adjustment.

A simple design of the device according to the invention will be obtained in that a single rotatable adjusting sleeve, which is known per se, is provided for the standard and differentiating adjustments and said sleeve is provided with a nose, a cam or the like, whereas the locking member consists of a releasable screw, a pin or the like and constitutes a stop for the nose, cam or the like, which stop prevents a rotational movement of the adjusting sleeve, in excess of, at most, one revolution.

In a device in which a spring for exerting the retaining force is mounted in a bore of a pivoted member, it has been found desirable to provide for the standard adjustment a closing plug, which is inserted into the 'bore and which is formed in its periphery with recesses associated with various standard adjustments, to provide as a locking member a locking screw, which is threaded into the pivoted member and has an end portion received by one of said recesses, and to provide an adjusting screw, which is axially threaded into the closing plug and adapted to be threadedly adjusted therein within a limited range for the differentiating adjustment and engages a spring abutment.

In a device in which the coupling means comprise a retaining member and a pinlike release member, which has a free end portion engaging an aperture of the retaining member and is axially displaceable relative to the retaining member against a spring force and can be pivotally moved to the release position when the coupling means have been disengaged, the concept of the invention can be advantageously embodied in that the retaining member serves as the adjusting member for the standard adjustment and consists in a manner known per se of a cube, which is pivotally movable and by means of at least one screw can be locked in a limited number of angular positions, the extent of the movement to be performed by the release memberfor a release is different in each angular position of the retaining member, and the release member is variable in length by a limited threaded adjustment thereof in its support to effect the differentiating adjustment.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described more fully and by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the adjusting device according to the invention in conjunction with a known toe holder,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing the adjusting device of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on line IlI--III in FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 is a second embodiment of the adjusting device according to the invention in conjunction with a different toe holder, which is partly shown in a central longitudinal sectional view,

FIG. 5 is an enlarged front elevation showing the adjusting device of FIG. 4,

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the adjusting device according to the invention in conjunction with an also known toe holder, which is partly shown in a central longitudinal sectional view,

FIG. 7 is an enlarged top plan view showing the adjusting device of FIG. 6,

FIG. 8 shows a still further embodiment of the adjusting device according to the invention in conjunction with a known heel holder, which is cut open for improved representation, and

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view showing the adjusting device of FIG. 8 entirely in section.

The adjusting device shown in FIGS. 1-3 is assumed to be combined with a commercially available toe iron 1, which is disclosed, e.g., in the German Pat. No. 1,164,682. In that toe iron, two relatively movable members 2 and 3 are normally interlocked by a spring loaded ball detent device known per se. A knurled nut 4 is rotatably mounted and held against axial displacement in the pivoted member 3 and serves for a vertical displacement of the spring abutment to vary the retaining force.

An indicating pin 5 (see particularly FIG. 2) is secured to the displaceable spring abutment and extends through a slot 6 in the pivoted member 3 and indicates the adjusted retaining force on a scale 7 extending along the edges of the slot 6. A plate 8 is secured to the outside of the pivoted member and is adjustable in a vertical direction in FIGS. 1 and 2 and covers at least part of the slot 6. The adjustment of the plate 8 is enabled by the provision of a vertical slot 9, through which a fastening element, such as a fixing screw 10 extends, which is threaded into the pivoted member 3. As is more clearly apparent from FIG. 3, the plate 8 and the pivoted member 3 are provided each in known manner with teeth 11 or 12, respectively, so that they will be held more firmly together because the teeth interengage when the fixing screw 10 has been tightened to fix the plate 8 in position. The plate 8 has a second slot 13, which is parallel to the slot 6 in the pivoted member 3 and disposed above the same. The slot I3 is shorter and narrower than the slot 6 and receives a pinlike end portion 14 of the indicating pin 5. The center of the slot 13 is marked by a graduation 15.

The operation of the adjusting device is very simple. For instance, when the binding is being sold, the sports articles dealer removes the plate 8 and turns .the knurled nut 4 to adjust the binding to the value which is standard for the skier, for instance, to the value 2, as is shown in FIG. 2. The dealer then secures the plate by means of the screw 10 to the pivoted member 3 in such a manner that the graduation l5 registers with the center of the end portion 14 of the indicating pin 5, as is shown in FIG. 2. Thereafter, the adjustment of the retaining force by means of the knurled nut 4 is limited by the engagement of the end portion 14 of the indicating pin 5 with the ends of the slot 13. The length of the slot 13 is selected to enable only a small adjustment in a permissible range above and below the standard value adjusted by the sports articles dealer.

Compared to a permanent adjustment of the standard value in accordance with the adjusting rules, the fact the the invention enables a change of the retaining force affords the advantage that the skier can somewhat vary the factor of safety in accordance with his proficiency whereas such variation will not endanger the reliable release in response to a force which would endanger the skiers leg. On the other hand, a screw-driver is required when it is desired to displace the plate 8 and such displacement will become apparent if a seal has been provided on the screw 10 so that thestandard value adjusted by the sports articles dealer cannot readily be changed to a non-permissible extent, whether such change is made intentionally or inadvertently.

The adjusting device which is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 in conjunction with a toe iron which is known per se and disclosed, e.g., in the Austrian Pat. No. 245,454 comprises two adjusting members serving respectively for effecting a standard adjustment and a differentiating adjustment. The adjusting member for the standard adjustment consists of a closing plug 20, which has coarse screw threads and closes one end of a bore 21 in a pivoted member 22. A retaining spring 23 is mounted in known manner in the bore 21. The closing plug 20 is formed with six longitudinal grooves 24 (see particularly FIG. 5), which are spaced around its periphery, and are engageable by a suitable tool for threadedly adjusting the plug. A headless setscrew 25 is threaded into the pivoted member and enables alocking of the closing plug against a threaded adjustment. A number designated 26 and indicating the respective standard valve is associated with each groove 24. The adjusted standard value 3 is indicated by the number designated 26 which is associated with that groove 24 which receives the headless setscrew 25.

The closing plug has a tapped axial bore, into which an adjusting screw 27 is threaded, which serves for a differential adjustment. A spring abutment 28 is secured by a headed screw 29 to the end portion of the adjusting screw 27. The abutment28 is engaged by the retaining spring 23 and prevents also an unscrewing of the adjusting screw out of the closing plug 20. The length of the shank of the screw is selected so as to permit only of a relatively small threaded adjustment of the screw 27 so that the adjusted standard value can be changed only slightly. For indication of the extent of the differentiating adjustment, the screw head 27, is provided with an elevation in the form of an arrow 30 (see FIG. 5). The numerical scale 26 which is provided on the closing plug 20 thus enables a reading both of the adjusted standard value as well as of the extent of the differentiating adjustment.

This adjusting device has the same purpose as the device shown in FIGS. 1-3. By means of a tool, such as a socket wrench, the sports articles dealer can adjust the binding to the standard value which is proper for the skier when the binding is being sold. For this purpose, the dealer turns the closing plug until the groove 24 provided with the proper number is in register with the tapped bore formed in the pivoted member for the headless screw 25. When the headless screw 25 has been inserted and possibly sealed, the closing plug 20 can no longer be threadedly adjusted and another standard value cannot be adjusted. A recess for use in sealing the screw is formed in the pivoted member. The adjusted standard value can be slightly changed by means of the adjusting screw 27 by the skier himself, who may turn the adjusting screw 27, e.g., by means of a coin inserted into the sufficiently large slot provided for this purpose in the head of the screw 27.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show an adjusting device included in another known toe iron, which is disclosed, e.g., in the German opened Application No. 1,453,101. This adjusting device comprises an adjusting sleeve 32, which constitutes an abutment for a retaining spring 31 and is threadedly adjusted in a pivoted member for an adjustment of the retaining force. In known manner, the adjusting sleeve 32 has a toothlike projection 33, which advances an indicating disc 34 (see particularly FIG. 7) one step in response to each revolution of the adjusting sleeve. Numerals designated 35 are provided on the indicating disc 34 (see FIG. 7) and that of these numerals which corresponds to the adjusted standard value is visible through an aperture 36 in the pivoted member. When the sports articles dealer has adjusted the binding to the standard value which is proper for the skier, a stop screw 37 can be threaded into the pivoted member so that the end of said screw extends into the range of movement of the tooth 33. Thereafter, the rotation of the adjusting sleeve 32 is limited by the engagement of the tooth 33 with the stop screw 37 so that the differentiating adjustment is limited to a predetermined range. The arc of a circle which can be described by the tooth 33 during a rotation of the adjusting sleeve 32 is divided by the stop screw 37 and the inspection opening 36 into two halves, which are designated and respectively. The position of the tooth 33 will then indicate whether the differentiating adjustment has resulted in a value which is above or below the adjusted standard value.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show an adjusting device according to the invention in conjunction with a known heel holder which is disclosed, e.g., in the Swiss Pat. No. 450,253. In that heel holder, a pinlike release member 40 is axially displaceable against the force of a spring 41 relative to a retaining member 42, which is known from the Austrian Pat. No. 258,178, until the release member is released from the retaining member. The binding is adjusted to the standard value which is proper for the skier by the sports articles dealer in that the retaining member 42 is properly positioned. The member 42 is adapted to be fixed to a web 43 of the heel holder by means of a screw 44 in any of four different angular positions. Each of these angular positions is associated with a different extent of the movement to be performed by the release member for a release and consequently with a different force required to effect a release of the heel holder. When the heel holder has been released, the differentiating adjustment may be effected by a turning of the release pin 40, which is threaded into a cable nipple 45. A headless setscrew 46 is radially threaded into this cable nipple 45 and has an end portion which extends into an annular groove 47 in the release pin 40 (see FIG. 9). This headless setscrew 46 limits the range within which the release pin can be adjusted so that only a small adjustment from the adjusted standard value is enabled.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for use with a toe or heel holder for safety ski bindings and which device serves to adjust a retaining force which is to be overcome for a safety release of the holder, wherein the improvement comprises adjusting means in operative relationship with said holder for effecting a standard adjustment thereof and for effecting a differentiating adjustment thereof, and locking means operatively connected to said holder and cooperating with said adjusting means for limiting operation of said adjusting means, said locking means being adjustable and releasable to enable said standard adjustment by said adjusting means and said locking means permitting only the differentiating adjustment by said adjusting means when said locking means is fixedly positioned with respect to at least a portion of said holder.

2. A device according to claim 1, further comprising means in operative relationship with said adjusting means for indicating the retaining force, said indicating means including an indicating pin (5) having a free end portion (14) and said locking means including a plate (8) in cooperating relationship with said adjusting means, a fastening element (10) cooperating with said plate (8) for adjustably positioning the plate with respect to the holder, and said plate (8) defining a slot (13) which receives the free end portion (14) of the indicating pin (5) and which limits the movement of said indicating pin to a range corresponding to the differentiating adjustment.

3. A device according to claim 1, wherein said adjusting means include a rotatable adjusting sleeve (32) in operative relationship with the holder for enabling the standard and differentiating adjustments and wherein said sleeve includes a projection (33), said locking means including a releasable screw (37) positionable to act as a stop for the projection (33), which stop prevents a rotational movement of the adjusting sleeve in excess of, at most, one revolution.

4. A device according to claim 1 for use with a holder having a pivoted member (22) with a bore therein, said adjusting means of said device including a spring for exerting said retaining force mounted in said bore, a closing plug (20) for providing said standard adjustment inserted into the bore (21 said closing plug formed in its periphery with recesses (24) associated with various standard adjustments, the locking means including a locking screw (25) threaded into the pivoted member (22) and having an end portion received by said one of recesses (24), and said adjusting means further including an adjusting screw (27) axially threaded into the closing plug (20) and adapted to be threadably adjusted therein within a limited range for the differentiating adjustment and a spring abutment (28) engaging said adjusting screw and said spring.

5. A device according to claim 1 in which the adjusting means comprise a retaining member defining an aperture therein and a pin-like release member having angular positions, the extent of the movement to be performed by the release member for a release being different in each angular position of the retaining member (42), and a limited threaded adjustment support (45) in operative relationship with said release member to effect the differentiating adjustment. 

1. A device for use with a toe or heel holder for safety ski bindings and which device serves to adjust a retaining force which is to be overcome for a safety release of the holder, wherein the improvement comprises adjusting means in operative relationship with said holder for effecting a standard adjustment thereof and for effecting a differentiating adjustment thereof, and locking means operatively connected to said holder and cooperating with said adjusting means for limiting operation of said adjusting means, said locking means being adjustable and releasable to enable said standard adjustment by said adjusting means and said locking means permitting only the differentiating adjustment by said adjusting means when said locking means is fixedly positioned with respect to at least a portion of said holder.
 2. A device according to claim 1, further comprising means in operative relationship with said adjusting means for indicating the retaining force, said indicating means including an indicating pin (5) having a free end portion (14) and said locking means including a plate (8) in cooperating relationship with said adjusting means, a fastening element (10) cooperating with said plate (8) for adjustably positioning the plate with respect to the holder, and said plate (8) defining a slot (13) which receives the free end portion (14) of the indicating pin (5) and which limits the movement of said indicating pin to a range corresponding to the differentiating adjustment.
 3. A device according to claim 1, wherein said adjusting means include a rotatable adjusting sleeve (32) in operative relationship with the holder for enabling the standard and differentiating adjustments and wherein said sleeve includes a projection (33), said locking means including a releasable screw (37) positionable to act as a stop for the projection (33), which stop prevents a rotational movement of the adjusting sleeve in excess of, at most, one revolution.
 4. A device according to claim 1 for use with a holder having a pivoted member (22) with a bore therein, said adjusting means of said device including a spring for exerting said retaining force mounted in said bore, a closing plug (20) for providing said standard adjustment inserted into the bore (21), said closing plug formed in its periphery with recesses (24) associated with various standard adjustments, the locking means including a locking screw (25) threaded into the pivoted member (22) and having an end portion received by said one of recesses (24), and said adjusting means further including an adjusting screw (27) axially threaded into the closing plug (20) and adapted to be threadably adjusted therein within a limited range for the differentiating adjustment and a spring abutment (28) engaging said adjusting screw and said spring.
 5. A device according to claim 1 in which the adjusting means comprise a retaining member defining an aperture therein and a pin-like release member having an end portion engaging said aperture of the retaining member and being axially displaceable relative to the retaining member and pivotally movable to a release position, the retaining member (42) serving as the adjusting means for the standard adjustment, a web pivotally movable relative to said holder, at least one screw (44) in operative relationship for enabling the retaining member to be locked in a limited number of angular positions, the extent of the movement to be performed by the release member for a release being different in each angular position of the retaining member (42), and a limited threaded adjustment support (45) in operative relationship with said release member to effect the differentiating adjustment. 